Deleting Stock Apps In iOS 10 Does Not Really Delete Them

Earlier this week, Apple announced its forthcoming iOS 10 that bragged a lot of new forward-facing additions in terms of both, visuals and features. More importantly, Apple added one feature that iOS users have been demanding for a long time: Deleting stock apps. As satisfied as we all were, it seems like they’re just hiding from view. This means that the stock apps that you will delete on your iOS device will not actually be deleted. So where do they go? Let’s find out.

Deleting Stock Apps In iOS 10 Does Not Free Up Storage Space

Yes, deleting stock apps in iOS 10 is allowed, but it will not free up space on your iOS device. This has been revealed by the Apple executive, Craig Frederighi at the Talk Show Live podcast. Frederighi clarified that when an individual deletes a stock app, merely the system hooks, data and other extensions are removed. The deleted app’s binary remains intact to the OS and hence, occupies space.

Since the stock iOS apps are part of Apple’s signed binary, they cannot be removed from the system. This is the same reason why stock iOS apps receive new features when the complete iOS version is upgraded. However, it’s not a complete loss, some storage space will be freed once the stock app is deleted. This is because the removal of system hooks and user data would definitely free up space. Nonetheless, the space freed is to minute to matter to users.

So if you’re someone who would be looking forward to deleting stock apps from iOS 10 to free up some extra space on your device, you’re going to be a little disappointed. Users with the 16 GB iPhone or iPad variant are the first ones who realize deleting stock apps does not have a major impact on device storage. Nonetheless, the removal of stock apps from the Home screen would free up space on just the Home screen.

Apart from this, iOS 10 has a lot to brag about. Rich Notifications on the lock screen are a major addition too – allowing users to expand content using the 3D Touch functionality on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. For the remaining iPhone lineup, Apple did mention in iOS 10 beta release notes that older generation iPhone models would receive Rich Notifications as well. The only thing it didn’t mention is how. We will let you guys know about it once we hear more.

This is it for now, folks. Were you looking forward to deleting stock apps in iOS 10? How do you feel about it now? Let us know about it in the comments.